Window blind



Patent-ed Aug. 16, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE.

'J'OHNYP. WHITMORE, OF SAN MARINO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR "10 COLUMBIA AMILLS INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N'. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

wnmow nLnm.

Application inea November 11, 192s. sei-iai in. 147,740.

. This invention relates to blinds for controlling the admissidnof light through windows, doors, and the like, and articularly to blinds of the type known as enetian 6 blinds. The principal object of the invention is to provide a Venetian blind which will admit a-maximum amount of light to a room/while at the same time minimizing the glare upon the eyes of persons in the room.

Blinds of the type known as Venetian blinds comprise, in general, a plurality of flat strips extending transversely of the window orother opening, and disposed one above the other so as to provide spaces therebetween, and means for tilting said slats in either direction from the horizontal so as to control the admission of light through said spaces. Such slats may therefore be tilted into such a position as to reflect exterior light from the upper surfaces 'thereof into the room to light the same while wholly preventing or reducing-to a minimum the direct passage of .light rays between the slats into certain portions of theroom, for example,l

the lowerportionv thereof. This .is of material advantage, for example, in oflice rooms andthe like where persons are normally engaged within .said room and particularly inl the lower portion thereof, since it provides ample light within' the room without causing the light rays to reach thee es of such persons directly. Aparticular o ject of my invention'islto increase the reflection of 1i ht from the upper surfaces of the s'latsand t us provide an increased amount of indirect lighting while at the saine time reducing or maintaining `at a minimumA the reflection of light from the. surfaces of the 'slats which are-normally disposed inwardly toward the room under .such conditions.

The above objects are accomplished accordin to my invention by providing eachof sai slats of the'Venetian blind with a reflecting upper surface having a meli t tlic lusterl and a light absorbing lower surface capable of reflecting materiell less light than the uppersurface. Di erent means may be emp oyed for? roviding the slats withthe above describe *surfacesand tions embodying my invention.

The accpgpanymg drawings illustrate certain ein iments' of my invention, Aand referring thereto:

I will now describe certain specific construc` Fig. 1 is an inside elevation of a Venetian blind embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is -a vertical section thereof on line 2--2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectionof one of the slats of said Venetian blind.

Fig. 4 is a partial vertical section on line 4--4 in Fig. 1 but with the slats tilted to a different position.

Fig. 5 is a view similari` to Fig. 3, vshowing a modified form of Slat.

The Venetian blind is shown as mounted, within a framel comprising vertical side members 1 and horizontal top and 'bottom members 2 and 3. Said frame maybe the frame of a window, door or any other opening ina wall, but for vthe purpose of illustration it may be considered` as being a frame of a window 1n an exterior wall of a room. Y

Anupper supporting plate or sill 4 is secured in position beneath ythe top frame member 2 and ma be provided with a roove 5' extending longitudinally thereof an with .pulleys 6, 7 and 8 rotatably mounted on shafts'9'therein. l l

A top slat 10 may be provided at its ends with projecting pins 11 which may be rotatably mounted in brackets 12 depending from the sill`4. Two fabricl supportiig` strips 13 may be secured at their upper en to the supporting slat 10so as to constitute loops extending downwardly 'to' the bottom .of the space to be occupied'by the blind. In

the bottom of the loo so formed a bottom slat 14 may be secure in any suitable man-- ner. A plurality of transverse supporting strips .16 of suitable fabric extend across bevtween the opposite'sides of strips, 13 at positions equally spaced throughout the height thereof and the transverse slats 17 rest upon said transversestri sv 16 and between the opposite sides of strips 13 and extend transversely. substantially across the entire width of the openin between the side membersl.

Lifting cor s 20 are secured in aiiysiiit` able manner to the bottom slat 1 .4-'aiidjpass upwardly through slots 22 in thel'slatsl( and Vthroughslots 23 `in the top slat '10 and over4 pulleys 6 and 7, thence through groove 5 and over pulle 8, and thence downwardly into position a jacent one, of the side members 1, said cords being advantageously joined togethery at their .ends or being formed as a j single so as toprov'ide a loop at position. Suitable means such as headed stud 24 may be provided so that the ends of said cords may be secured. thereto so as to hold the bottom Slat 14 in any position to which it may be-raised, as is customary in such devices.

In order to provide for tilting the slats of the blind, a cord 27 may be secured at one end to the top of the upper slat 10 as indicated at 28 and may extend around behind and beneath said slat as indicated at 29, passing over pulley 30 on bracket 12 and downwardly alongside one of the side members 1 to form a loop 3l, thence upwardly i in front of the upper slat 10 and around above and behind the same as indicated at 32, and may be secured at its other end to the bottom of said slat 10 as shown at 33. It

.may be seen that with such an arrangement pulling of the cord at one side of loop `31 will cause the slats'to be tilted in one direction while pulling at the other side vof said loop will cause the s'lats to be tilted in the reverse direction.

The upper slat l0 may be provided with a spring catch 35 adapted to engage in any one of a plurality of notches 36 in bracket 12 so as to hold said slat, together with the slats 17, in any one of a plurality of different positions to which they may be tilted by the tilting means above described.

The above described parts of the blind are all well-known in practice and form no essential art of my invention, but have been described in some detail order that a clear understanding may be had of the advantages of such invention. lAccording to this invention each of the slats 17 and also if desired the upper slat 10 an bottom slat 14) is provided with an upHer light reflecting surface 40 having a meta ic luster and a consequently high ca acity for light ,reflection and a hght absor ing lower sur- 'face 41 capable of reflecting materially less lightthan said upper surface. One meansl o formin ysuch surfaces lis illustrated particularly in Fig. 3 in which the slat 17 is shown as a strip of wood or metal, the upper surface vof which is coated with a light reflecting coating 40 consisting, for example, of metallic paint such as aluminum or bronze aint, and its lower surface coated with a i ht absorbin material, such as a non-metallic paint. he aluminum paint which may advantageousl be used for coating the uppe'r surface ofy the slats consists of aluminum powder in a body of lacquer or varnish or other suitable material. Y Y Underl normal conditions, with fairly strong light outside,.theV blindmay advantageously be adjusted to a position in which vthe slats are inclined outwardly and downwardly forexample, to the position shown in Fig. 2. With the slats in such position a relatively small amount of light is per- `with an upper surface ha eyes ofthe persons in the lower portion of the room and below the level of the major portion of the blind is substantially entirely.

prevented. Light rays indicated at a, however, strike the upper surfaces of the slats and are effectively reflected therefrom as indicated at b so as to strike the ceiling 0r the opposite wall of the room and thus light the same indirectly. Light rays such as 1ndicated at a however, upon being reflected as at b', strike the lower surfaces of the slats and are largely absorbed thereby so that there is a minimum amount of li ht reflected from the lower surfaces of the s ats to the eyes of persons in the room. It is possible, therefore, with such a construction, to look .d-

rectly at the blind without obtaining anyv effect of glare, asall that is seen is the light absorbing lower surfaces of the slats, While at the same time the room is well lighted by means of the light rays reflected from the upper surfaces of the slats.

It will be understood of course, that the Venetian blind above described may be adjusted to any other desired sition. For example, when the exterior hght is dim as in case of cloudy weather the slats may be inclined downwardly and inwardly as shown in Fig. 4 so as to permit a eater proportion of the li ht rays from t e exterior to pass directly through the s aces 15 between the slats as indicated at c. i en the slats are in this position they 'also serve torefiect light from the exterior into the room, while at the same time no objectionable glare is produced, since the persons in the room are in general somewhat'below the `level of the major ortion of the blind and hence would see on y the edges or the lower surfaces of most of the slats, while even if' the upper surfaces of such slats were visible from certain rtions of the room, there would be but little reiiection therefrom owing)to the dimness of the exterior light.

' ther means ma be employed for pro- .yiding the light re ecting and light absorbing surfaces of the slats. For example, as shown in Fi 5 each of the slats 1 may constitute a at strip of met-a1 whose upper surface 40 may be polished or otherwise treated so as to .give it a hi h metallic luster and' a co uently hig reflecting power, while a coating 41 of suitable ht absorbing material such as vnon-meta c paint may be applied to the lower surface thereof.

I claim:

`1. In a Venetian blind, a slat lprovided a metallic luster and a wer surface of lig t absorbing material.

.2. in venetian blind, l ne provided Lese-,474 i "3 with .lghc'reniing u mim having a light absoring coating 'of non-,metallic a metallic'luster and a lixhrabsorb' lowerA paint on its' lower surface.

l surface capable of reflecting materia y less In testimony whereof I have hereunto l. light than said upper surface. subscribed my name .this 3 day of November,

3. In a Venetian blind, a slat comprising 1926. a flat strip having a light reflecting coat of metallic paint on its upper surface JOHN IP. WHITMORE. 

